The Official Adam Pascal Love Thread, part six- Page 138

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:50pm

What's DBQ?

[Billboard Girl]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:51pm

But seeing first hand how much math teaching has changed in the last 5-10 years and seeing how horribly crappy some of the curriculum is, I'm surprised anyone comes out of high school even knowing how to add!

My mom has been a substitute teacher at our local elementary school for about 7 or 8 years, and she says she feels bad for the little kids because the way they teach math now is so non-intuitive and complicated and it changes every couple of years anyway.

Ever feel like your math teachers are really smart, they just are clueless in the teaching field?

I didn't feel that way about any of my math teachers until college, but one of the physics teachers at my high school had the reputation of being a genius (with very impressive credentials from his work in the field before he came to our school), but an absolutely terrible teacher.

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:52pm

Document Based Question - you get a whole writing prompt and then a packet of primary and secondary sources ... basically a research paper that you have to do quickly and with the information sitting in front of you.

[xoxRogue]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:52pm

Well, I never HAD to use all of the documents.

Hmm...Do this.

1. Underline key facts and dates in the question.
2. Write everything you know that relates to the question.
3. Underline key things in the documents.
4. Use P.E.R.S.I.A. and separate the documents. Being that the question is about Religion, the documents should fit in that catagory. I put that for other DBQs. (P-political. E-economy. R-religion. S-social. I-intellectual. A-art).
4. Write thesis statement. (50 words or so...)

That's what I do to begin. It helps alot.

If I had one of my DBQs, I could write the steps better. I did that from memory.

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 08:52 PM

[iheartcheyenne123]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:52pm

D-document B-based Q-question

..then an essay at the end, which is what i'm doing now

"Cheyenne - Ew. Ew. Double Ew."

you said it

btw-you can call me Alex

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:56pm

My mom has been a substitute teacher at our local elementary school for about 7 or 8 years, and she says she feels bad for the little kids because the way they teach math now is so non-intuitive and complicated and it changes every couple of years anyway.

Yeah ... to teach kids area, we now give them weird bizarre shapes and a bucket of something like pennies or toys. Then they have to somehow figure out over the course of a 1/2 hour that area means length x width. Come on people, it's a formula. Memorize it, love it, use it!

[Chloe]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:58pm

My aunt quit teaching in frustration a few years ago because she wasn't being allowed to do it the way she felt was best.
Updated On: 2/14/06 at 08:58 PM

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:01pm

That's why I love my job in the library. It's one of the only spots left that doesn't have a script to read in lieu of teaching. The things I have to teach, like the research cycle, are easy to do with any fun topic. Right now I have the 5th graders planning me a vacation with a $10,000 budget and rules like having to see a professional sports team play a game and stay in a cool hotel with a pool. :) Much more fun than the average classroom crap.

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:01pm

Chloe, perhaps I should have been more specific. It's the stuff like graphing sine waves and hyperbolas and listing their vertices and asymptotes that really irks me. I don't think either of those concepts is especially difficult, but it all seems so pointless to me. It's awesome that you had the opportunity to use some sort of math in your field, though.

Wow, I'm happy I don't have to do any more DBQs. I never thought they were hard as much as horrifically boring.
Updated On: 2/14/06 at 09:01 PM

[Billboard Girl]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:02pm

My mom tried to show me how they're supposed to teach kids how to add now, and it gave me a headache.

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:03pm

My highschool "career" was messed up. I the first year in Ontario to have four years instead of five. The teachers had no idea what they were teaching us.

[iheartcheyenne123]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:05pm

Thanks Rogue

*re-reads steps*

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:05pm

That sounds stressful, CS. But having 4 years instead of 5 is an ok tradeoff, I guess.

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:06pm

Yeah, but being the guinea pigs for it was messed up. There was also the stress about getting accepted into university seeing as two grades would be graduating at once.

[Billboard Girl]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:06pm

I always liked DBQs because all or most of the information you needed to write the essay was right there in front of you. Having to remember all of the stuff I might have to write an essay about for the AP Euro and US history exams was stressful, so it was nice to have one essay where you could relax a bit.

[Chloe]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:07pm

Lexi, you're right that a lot of what you're doing will probably never have any practical application for you. You're gaining something intellectually by going through the discipline of thinking it out though. That said, I'm so glad I'm not in school any more!

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:07pm

CS - do most people who graduate near you go to college in Canada? Are there a lot that cross the border for school?

[Dancinqueen123]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:09pm

Well, the "suicide week" for me starts tomorrow. That's the week when our musical rehersals get crazy and the ending time for practices is unknown. Usually around 10:30 or 11. Our performances start next week and end after the first weekend in march. I probably won't be around until after the show is over. Wish me luck and I'll talk to you all in a few weeks!
<3 Kelsey

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:10pm

I believe that University is cheaper here, like tuition and stuff. I know a couple of people that went to the states on scholarships for sports. Most of my friends stayed home and went to school in Toronto.

[Chloe]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:12pm

Break a leg, Kelsey!

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:16pm

Psst. I got the Rent Movie DVD!!

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:17pm

In NYC? Or is it elsewhere?

[iheartcheyenne123]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:18pm

Bye Kelsey! Good Luck

oo yay dvd!

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:19pm

A friend got it in NY.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:32pm

Suicide week, I have never heard it called that before. We just called it Hell Week

Rupture your spleen!